' This is
severe, but after all it was a literary woman who wrote it. On the whole
we may safely assume, with the evidence before us, that Mr. Bronte was a
thoroughly upright and honourable man who came manfully through a
somewhat severe life battle. That is how his daughters thought of him,
and we cannot do better than think with them. {53}
Mr. Bronte died on June 7, 1861, and his funeral in Haworth Church is
described in the _Bradford Review_ of the following week:--
'Great numbers of people had collected in the churchyard, and a few
minutes before noon the corpse was brought out through the eastern
gate of the garden leading into the churchyard. The Rev. Dr. Burnet,
Vicar of Bradford, read the funeral service, and led the way into the
church, and the following clergymen were the bearers of the coffin:
The Rev. Dr. Cartman of Skipton; Rev. Mr. Sowden of Hebden Bridge;
the Incumbents of Cullingworth, Oakworth, Morton, Oxenhope, and St.
John's Ingrow. The chief mourners were the Rev. Arthur Bell
Nicholls, son-in-law of the deceased; Martha Brown, the housekeeper;
and her sister; Mrs. Brown, and Mrs. Wainwright. There were several
gentlemen followed the corpse whom we did not know. All the shops in
Haworth were closed, and the people filled every pew, and the aisles
in the church, and many shed tears during the impressive reading of
the service for the burial of the dead, by the vicar.
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